T-Mac Streetball is a two-on-two basketball game starring, as the title suggests, Houston Rockets superstar swingman Tracy McGrady. T-Mac, as he's known to hardcore basketball fans, is one of the top players in the league for his scoring prowess, his extraordinary athleticism, and his versatility on the court. Unfortunately, this mobile basketball game isn't nearly as spectacular as its namesake, though it does share some of his versatility by offering a good array of gameplay options and a decent level of depth.
The game offers three primary play modes. One is a basic exhibition where you play a single game of full-court two-on-two against computer-controlled opponents. There's also 21, which is actually not the three-man free-for-all game played on most playgrounds and gyms. Instead it's just a two-on-two game to 21 points where you can earn money for winning (although there doesn't seem to be any store where you can spend this cash). Finally, there's a tournament mode where you tour around the country to different courts, playing timed four-quarter games to try to move on to the next court and the next city. A practice mode is also available. Before entering any of the modes, you choose from a variety of different teams. One of these duos is McGrady and Mike Miller, a former teammate of McGrady who's currently using his sharpshooting skills for the Memphis Grizzlies. The rest of the duos consist of fictional streetball players with names like X-Ray, Handlez, and Matrix.
Once in the game, the controls are pretty basic. You move about the court with the control pad, and three different buttons are mapped so you can shoot, pass, and dunk on the offensive side. Meanwhile, steal, switch, and block are mapped to three different buttons on the defensive side. The actual gameplay is pretty decent, and though trying to play position defense is still awkward while using the keypad, it's possible to get a lot of steals to keep your opponent from scoring.
In fact, T-Mac Streetball would be a good game if not for an easily discovered exploit in the artificial intelligence. It's possible to get an open dunk every time off an inbounds play by simply running your man all the way downcourt and then throwing a length-of-the-court pass to him. Your opponents will always break toward the backcourt, for some reason, before finding themselves way out of position. This means that all you really need to do to win a game is get a couple of defensive stops on your own, because you're all but guaranteed to score after any basket the computer scores. It's a shame the exploit exists, and there aren't any difficulty sliders available that might mitigate the flaw. Otherwise, though, T-Mac Streetball is a decent game of basketball.
As far as presentation goes, the game offers some nice-looking backgrounds ranging from NYC neighborhood cityscapes to an outdoor arena and a seaside court as well. Each city in the tour has a unique court, and there are often crowds looking on; but they don't animate. If there's a complaint to be made it's that the players look a bit small on the LG VX8000's screen. However, they animate decently enough, and you can even customize your team prior to each game with different-colored jerseys and shorts. As far as sound goes, T-Mac Streetball doesn't offer a whole lot. There's some music in the menu screen, but during the game everything is silent, aside from the swish of a made basket or the sound of the crowd cheering after a dunk.
If you're looking to satisfy your craving for a mobile basketball game, T-Mac Streetball could be a decent choice because of its array of gameplay types, as well as its decent overall gameplay and presentation. You'll just have to make sure to avoid the temptation of using the money play off an inbounds pass, though, because it makes the game much too easy.
